Thursday, June 30, 2016

North E-Type 6.6 Commentary

Hi

As mentioned in the previous post I want to share some
thoughts about and give some commentary on this iconic freeride sail.

Initial Impressions

When we purchased the 6.6, I rigged it on my North Platinum 460
SDM mast. This is North’s first choice of
masts for it. Their second choice is their
430 SDM and the least favourite mast option is a 430 North RDM.

On the 460 SDM, the sail rigs perfectly. Once you have tightened the battens the foil
is absolutely smooth and as you apply downhaul, it falls off beautifully – a really
nice piece of design.

On the water the
sail is powerful for its size, certainly equal to a 7m GA or Vandal sail in
this class. The low end is actually
quite ferocious and it gets the stickiest of boards planing – no problem. My first impression was that it is really
racy. It was totally at home on my
Falcons 113 and 124 and I had some concern that it may not suit our Tabou 3S
116 very well. I need not have worried. It is fantastic with free-move boards – fast, controllable, easy.

Rigging

The sail comes with trimming marks to help you rig for
light, medium or strong winds. My belief
is that you can pull it down to beyond the ‘strong wind” mark for most of your
sailing. It is extremely powerful as
mentioned. I have also discovered that
you need not be frightened about applying outhaul. Once you have dragged it right down, pull it
out more than you think you should. This
exaggerated outhaul brings major stability into the rig.

With the sail rigged like this we had some
really fantastic sailing. My only niggle
was that when the wind really picks up the sail can start owning your ass
(especially when rigged on a slalom board).
The sensible thing to do in these winds is to rig a smaller sail of
course but I always aim to get the widest range possible from my sails and the
460 SDM mast restricts me slightly at the ragged top end.

I have moved away from GA sails and the problem with this as
a strategy, is that it leaves you with masts which may not be compatible with
your new sails. I have a Gaastra 430 RDM
which I used with my old GA Cross 6.4. The old Gaastra masts are super stiff and I had
a feeling that this stiffness in the RDM mast may just give me controllability and
ease without losing stability.

The combo has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. The sail is soft and light in the hands now
and can be pushed into wild conditions with confidence. I have to say that rigged, it is not as neat
as on the official 460 SDM – it definitely looks a bit dishevelled when you
drag it down but the results on the water are just fantastic.

We have now bought an E-Type 5.8m and I will be rigging that
on my trusty black Fiberspar RDM which has seen such distinguished service with
the 6.0m Cross in violent conditions.

OK that’s enough rambling for one post.

Good winds

BTW I hear rumours that Fanatic has developed a new long,
super lightwind Falcon board for 2017. I
would like to think that my blog posts had something to do with this but I’m
sure that it is a co-incidence.

They are
also bringing in a board called the Blast – a super fast, super comfortable free-race
model for non-racing blasters. How intelligent is that! Can’t
wait!

About Me

This blog is all about windsurfing so I will keep everything windsurfing related. I am a retired guy living in one of the best flat water sailing spots in the world. I would classify myself as a good recreational sailor capable of holding my own against any other recreational sailor. Serious racers and national level competitors kick my ass. As explained in the blog the range of conditions and opportunities provided by this place has created a group of avid sailors who spend far too much time sailing, discussing and researching things of a windsurfing nature
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I also run a commercial website at:
http://philrecommends.info/
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This has nothing at all to do with windsurfing but is rather a lifestyle site with tips and recommendations for everyone.